Hydroponic Soda Bottle System

Introduction: Hydroponic Soda Bottle System

Hydroponics is growing plants without dirt. Plants are grown with their roots in an inert medium. The medium can be perlite, rockwool, coconut husk, or rocks. They key is you keep the roots exposed to a nutrient rich water solution.

Hydroponic systems come in many didn't shapes and sizes. Today I'm going to demonstrate how to make a simple system using mostly things you have around the house. I did this with my 7 year old daughter on a recent snow day so it's also a great indoor winter activity.

Step 1: Gather Supplies

Before you start any project, it's smart to gather everything you need to avoid any mid-project surprises. Below is what you need today. Most items should already be in your house and the last 3 can be picked up at a local Home Depot.

Empty 2 liter soda bottle An old sock (you can use any cotton material) Scissors Black marker Small mixing bowl Cling wrap Perlite (available at your local Home Depot or Amazon) Peat Moss (available at your local Home Depot or Amazon) Seed of your choice (I'm using lettuce in this example)

Step 4: Mix the Medium

Mix the perlite and peat moss in a 1:1 ratio in your mixing bowl. You only need about 1 cup of each to fill your 2 liter but if you mix extra like I did you can save it for your next hydroponic DIY project. Tip: the reason I used the Miracle Grow products is that they already have the required nutrients for at least 3 months of growing so you don’t need to worry about adding fertilizer to your water.

Step 5: Fill Reservoir

Fill the bottom half of the 2 litter with water.

Step 6: Attach Grow Tray

Place the top half of the bottle upside down into the water. The wick should extend at least 1 inch into the water. You also want to ensure the sock is completely blocking the hole.

Step 10: Create a Mini Greenhouse

Wrap the top of your bottle in cling wrap to help the germination process.

Step 11: Store in a Warm Place

Seeds like it a little bit warmer than room temperature and usually don’t need light so I put our bottle in our utility closet with our heating system. It kept our DIY hydroponic system at about 80 degrees.

Comments

I'm kinda new to the whole hydroponics thing, but isn't this self watering and not hydroponics? I mean, because of the peat moss? If it were, say, perlite an vermiculite I would see the connection better, but you''re using dirt....